School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-An abandoned marble-colored pup finds a new home with Scarlett and her mom at a pet adoption event. The child takes on the responsibilities that come with owning a dog and then invites her friends to a backyard party where they can meet her new puppy, Maverick. She tells them the story of his rescue and adoption-and all about the other dogs just like Maverick that need homes, too. Children who cannot adopt a pet can discover other ways of helping homeless animals by observing the pet store manager and a concerned citizen who both help Maverick before he is adopted. VERDICT This duo's story, which is based on a real event, is told with love and compassion. A solid addition to share with prospective pet owners.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, Alta. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Schwarzenegger-author, ASPCA Ambassador, and eldest daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver-draws from personal experience in a sentimental story based on her own rescue dog. As the story opens, Maverick is alone under a freeway underpass on a rainy day; a woman brings him to a pet supply store, whose manager recommends that she temporarily care for him until an upcoming pet adoption event. The woman's fostering of Maverick goes unseen as the story jumps ahead to the adoption event, where Maverick is passed over by several visitors before winning the heart of a girl named Scarlett, whose mother agrees to adopt the puppy. Aside from the gloomy opening scene and the light tension surrounding whether Maverick will find a "forever-home," this is a rosy portrait of pet adoption: like Scarlett, who throws a party in order to tell her friends all about adopting Maverick, Schwarzenegger's goal seems largely to draw attention to "all the other dogs just like Maverick that needed homes too." Harris's smudgy-edged, mixed-media artwork can be overly sketchlike at times, but Scarlett's adoration for her new pet comes through clearly. Ages 4-7. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.